World Cup hosts Bangladesh do themselves proud
by Peter Roebuck
Bangladesh has an enormous part to play in the rise and fall of cricket. It displays the same single-minded devotion to the game detected in Kolkata 20 years ago. Admittedly, the team remains immature and mostly unsuccessful but the enthusiasm is high, the population is large and the talent obvious. With proper support, cricket's newest and poorest Test nation will be a powerhouse within 20 years.
Everyone still talks about the overwhelming scenes observed at the opening ceremony on February 20, the atmosphere in the ground, the warmth of the people, the packed streets outside. Indian observers report that it surpassed anything seen in their country. In the eyes of locals,
it was nothing less than the birth of the nation. An important sporting event had been put in its hands, and it has responded superbly.
Needless to say, Sher-e-Bangla, Dhaka's splendidly rebuilt stadium, filled up as the first quarter-final was played, never mind that the home side had already been eliminated. Inside the ground, the crowd was exuberant. Outside, hundreds of people milled around listening to the regular roars and cheers. Further away, groups gathered around large screens and watched as the Pakistani openers took their team towards the semi-finals.
Of course, Bangladesh needs to turn affection into strength. At present, the team consists mostly of boys sent to do a man's job. ICL, the rebel Twenty20 league, took away most of the senior players, and along the way they lost their edge. Not that they can be blamed for seeking money.
A weak domestic structure is the other problem, and that cannot be changed in five minutes.
Nor, though, is it a lost cause. Nations are so easily caricatured. Suffice it to say that Bangladesh has a woman prime minister, lots of newspapers, exceptional warmth and a more settled political position than some of its cricketing peers. It is also impoverished, congested and polluted.
As far as cricket is concerned, though, it is not merely a worthwhile investment, it's a critical location.
Bangladesh is not a problem, it is an asset. Locals even managed to enjoy a dreadfully one-sided match played between Pakistan and West Indies. A less tolerant crowd might have scorned the Caribbean outfit as impostors. Instead the ground rejoiced in the event itself.
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